D'Angelo Russell’s girlfriend Laura Ivaniukas shares son Riley’s adorable gesture as Lakers star breaks franchise record
LA Lakers star D'Angelo Russell's girlfriend Laura Ivaniukas took to Instagram to share the adorable gesture by their son Riley to commemorate Russell breaking a Lakers' franchise record. Laura reshared the Lakers' Instagram post on her story, which featured their son wearing a custom jersey that highlighted his dad's new record.
"My dad is the franchise leader for threes in a season," Riley's jersey read.
With 6:15 left in the first quarter of the LA Lakers' matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, D'Angelo Russell drilled his 184th three-pointer in the 2023–24 season to set the Lakers franchise record for most three-pointers made within a single season.
He surpassed Nick Van Exel's mark of 183, set in 1995.
During the post-game interview, Russell opened up about his achievement and mentioned wanting to add more to the record to make it difficult for the next person.
"This franchise is one of the most prestigious, so to have my name just to be part of it, more than grateful, blessed beyond measure," Russell said.
"Just want to keep continuing to shatter it if I can, make it really hard for the next person."
Though D'Angelo Russell has been a respectable three-point shooter throughout his career, the former All-Star is shooting a career-high 42.3% from beyond the arc this season and is averaging three of them per game.
D'Angelo Russell gets candid about his ceiling and adapting to Lakers' role
During a recent practice interview, D'Angelo Russell said he realized he had reached his peak after several years in the NBA. He realized he wasn't getting any better at the game, so he started focusing on optimizing it by practicing practical shots he could take in games.
“I realized I'm not gonna get any better as an individual basketball player, I'm kinda just gonna be better at what I do,” Russell said.
“In eight to 10 years in the league, I've learned where my shots are gonna come. When I watch countless amounts of film, I see what shots I don’t get, and I find [myself] wasting my time working on them in practice. So, I try to just harp on things that I can control and where I see my shots.”
Russell adapted well to his tweaked role in the LA Lakers, playing off the ball and as a catch-and-shoot threat.
Since February, the adjustment has helped the Lakers drastically improve their offense and maintain the second-best offense behind the Boston Celtics.